600 days of lockdown-fatigue – challenge to President Ramaphosa
17 November 2021
On 27 March 2020 South Africa was locked down. This was presented as a three-week suspension of the liberal norm so that public health providers could “prepare” for the Covid-19 pandemic. 600 days of various lockdown levels have come and gone since then.
On 15 November 2021, Cogta Minister
As the IRR observed in a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, what is being called a “state of disaster” is in actual terms a state of emergency. Calling it a different name allows the National Coronavirus Command Council to ignore Section 37 of the Constitution. According to this section “a state of emergency may be declared only in terms of an Act of Parliament”. No parliamentary approval has been given for the latest extension.
The IRR, through its attorneys, has followed up on last week’s letter to the President with a demand to know on what basis the “State of Disaster” has been extended. This demand has also been addressed to the Cogta Minister.